It started as a minor rear-end collision at a Tempe, Arizona intersection around 3 p.m. Saturday. A Mercedes, driven by Yue Jiang, a 19-year-old Chinese woman studying at Arizona State University, was stopped at a red light. A Volkswagen Passat, driven by Holly Davis, struck the rear end of the stopped vehicle. A 21-year-old friend who was riding with Jiang got out of the vehicle to look at the damage. He noticed the other driver approaching with a gun in her hand and got back inside the Mercedes.
According to Officer Naomi Galbraith of the Tempe Police Department. Davis walked up to the driver’s door of the Mercedes and fired several shots into the car. Jiang, severely injured by the bullets, attempted to get away by making a U-turn. She quickly lost control of the car, crossed into the oncoming lane, and struck a Chevy sedan carrying five members of a family, including a pregnant woman.
Jiang was taken to hospital where she later died. The five people in the third car, including three children, were taken to hospital but fortunately their injuries were minor.
Davis fled the scene but was quickly arrested thanks to the help of witnesses. Galbraith said, “They were just observant. They got a license plate and their information matched up with registration information on the plate and the car that was at the scene.”
The Arizona Republic reports Davis hid her car and the gun before going home, showering and washing her clothes. Court documents reveal a note was found that said Davis suffered from depression and had planned to commit an act of violence. She hoped to commit “suicide by cop” by having police officers shoot her.
When arrested at her home, the 32-year-old admitted using Oxycodone. Her boyfriend, with whom she had lived with for four days, told officers she was drunk.
Davis has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and disorderly conduct with a weapon by a prohibited possessor. She had previously been sentenced to three years in prison in Missouri for resisting a lawful stop and fleeing.
The news of Jiang’s death made the news in her native China. China Daily reports many Chinese students attending Arizona State University are now considering purchasing guns.
About 200 people, including fellow students and members of the Chinese community, attended a vigil at the site where Jiang was shot.
Davis is being held on a $1.5 million bond.
